Shirley MacLaine Reflects On Why ‘Steel Magnolias’ Still Resonates With Audiences

"I think it revealed all the intricacies and the diversity of women's friendships."

The 1989 classic Steel Magnolias is by far, the most referenced and the most quoted film around the Southern Living offices. If you love it as much as we do, we have some great news. Call your best friends and say let’s go to the movies because Steel Magnolias will be back on the big screen for two nights only in celebration of its 35th Anniversary.

Thanks to Fathom Events you can once again attend Shelby’s “blush and bashful” wedding, cheer for that armadillo cake, and laugh with the ladies at Truvy’s beauty shop. See it all the way it was meant to be viewed, from the big screen. You have two chances to head to a theater near you on May 5 and May 8. Call your girls and check here for the nearest participating location to you. It’s ladies night at the movie theater!

If you’ve somehow never seen Steel Magnolias, well no better time than now. But allow us to give you the rundown. The film takes us inside the lives of a group of strong, fiercely loyal, and whip smart friends living in a small Louisiana parish. The friends, who are often seen gathered at the beauty shop include M’Lynn (Sally Field), her daughter Shelby (Julia Roberts), Clairee (Olympia Dukakis), Annelle (Daryl Hannah), and Ouiser (Shirley MacLaine). It’s a poignant portrait of multi-generational friendship, of love, of grief, and it delicately threads the needle between making you laugh out loud and openly weep in equal measure. And without a doubt, it is a distinctly Southern story.

Ahead of the 30th anniversary, five years ago, Southern Living had the great pleasure to speak to Academy Award winner Shirley MacLaine about the lasting power of this film and her iconic portrayal of Ouiser Bourdeaux. Of playing the rather ornery character, MacLaine told us, “I loved her cynicism, how she was so free and open. Loved that.”

The Virginia native, then 85, told us, “I’m noticing with aging, I’m getting more like Ouiser. I have to be careful if I still want to have friends. She was so direct. She didn’t lie much about anything. And that’s true of me. So I kinda looked into that side of me that is direct and basically open. And at the time I played her, put another 25 years on her and here I am living it. Sometimes.”

As to why the film has lasted the test of time and is still so celebrated, MacLaine said, “I think it revealed all the intricacies and the diversity of women's friendships. And we experienced that on the set. We made very good friends that are still there for us. I think that, especially now, I think it's still resonating because we know we find comfort in each other and we can be honest and we can be cruel, and we can be funny. And we can be sarcastic and also know that we’re there for each other always. So I think that’s something we long for in this culture.”

Related: Julia Roberts Wasn't the Original Actor Cast as Shelby in Steel Magnolias

Just as the fans find comfort in watching and rewatching Steel Magnolias, all these years later, it holds a special place in MacLaine’s heart as well. “I will always treasure being part of this film. Every second. We each had places to live when we were shooting in Natchitoches, and we would visit each other’s rented homes after shooting many times during the week. So we had all the time friendships because we were away from our own families and everything so we made our family the women. Each other were our family. I think you can see that too on the screen. The movements in between. The attitudes between. It’s not like we didn’t know each other that well. We all knew each other well.”

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